Courage
by PJ141991
Summary: In a Hyrule without any gods left, Ganon has gave fear a new meaning. And Link, the hero chosen by the gods, has no support this time around. Worse, since Ganons reign, the world has been bred through generations of cowards. Will Link prevail without cou.
1. Prologue

Alright. New Zelda Fic. I hope to stick with this one.

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**Prologue: Ganons Triumph**

Just a boy…

Just a boy?... a grave understatement. The one who the gods favored, how could I miss something so fundamental? I had so much power… still have it. Even when sealed away, tumbling down a white abyss. Falling. Useless.

I kept whispering the same line. Three subtle words. I repeated them so long they lost their meaning, "kill that boy."

Kill that boy.

My body aged slowly during my times of concealment. For the longest time I had a red beard. It grew past my feet. Like the changing of seasons it turned another color, grey, and eventually fell out. All this time I was still falling.

When I knew I was going to die, I landed on the cold, concrete bottom. I clutched my chest as my heart faded, and screamed out to nowhere in particular, "kill that boy!"

My words survived faintly, carried on by the winds. And somehow, over the years, I was reborn. All the experience and knowledge I've gained from my previous loss was poured into my new vessel from the next generation. I was more cautious. When the time finally came for me to see him, I watched closely. Observed his every move like an obsession. In the end, I still wasn't prepared.

Loss after loss… I was beginning to feel hopeless, when a stroke of brilliance finally came to me. If the boy was protected by the gods, then maybe I could solve this dilemma by trimming it at its roots.

I immediately ascended to the heavens and barged into the temple of my first heavenly victim. My fingers wound around my sword in a death grip, which has been infused with some of my power for extra measures of luck. Life was drained from the God within seconds. An easy task, but I wasn't surprised that my second and third gods were equally child's play. There were many gods, some almost as weak as mortals.

The fourth God was what got me, who seemed aware of my intentions and disintegrated me with a blast of raw power. But I came back. I always did. Trail and error beyond trial and error I found their weak points. I killed them all. I thought for sure the gods would protect other gods, but then again maybe a God requires too much magic to protect.

Many generations later, I was ready to face my last God. Ellyon. As I set foot into the last temple, I unsheathed my blade. My robe rippled and snapped as the heavens winds picked up. Ellyon was ready for me… had to be. Only a fool wouldn't have the slightest idea of my intentions.

I walked inside, hoping that I wouldn't die before I had a chance to foresee any advice for my next generation. "Show yourself!" I barked. I wasn't scared, more angry than anything. Silence.

I looked around the darkest corners of the stone architecture first, then let my eyes wander about the sunlit portions. Old rugs, nothing special, lay in a long line leading up to the throne. But there was no God.

_"From the moment I created you, I knew you would betray me."_

I heard a soft voice from behind the throne. A greedy smile played onto my face. I gripped my dark blade and charged in that direction.

_"I created everything you know, the gods and goddesses that made this world what it is today. I am the maker of all things."_

I flipped over the throne, where a plain wooden chair rested, and raised my blade in front of Ellyon in a threatening manner. The God took me by surprise. He just sat there vulnerably, his smile, so genuine, so sincere. It unnerved me. I made to swing down my blade… but just couldn't. I was entranced.

His eyes were tearing up, but not in a selfish way, not because he was at the mercy of my blade. He looked at me with sorry eyes, they showed pity.

_"I gave you power. The power strong enough to destroy anything. Yet you wanted so much more. You're the deception of Hyrule, I knew this, but I inherited you with part of the Triforce anyway. That, my dear king of the Guerdos, is because I love all of my creation. I love you."_

I will not admit this aloud, but this was the first time that I ever swung at my enemy out of fear. I sliced him hard. Right down the middle. The magic in my blade made him fall apart in two slabs, like a mortal.

Then I laughed, but harder than usual. I was forcing it a little. I thought killing all the Gods would make me feel all the more superior, all the more powerful. But somehow, Ellyon spoiled that for me in the last few seconds. A real misfortune, but still I laughed, knowing that my time of reign was soon.

Without the gods, how could the boy prevail now?


	2. One

**One.** Aftermath.

_Fifty years before the next generation of Link…_

The priest observed his twelve most respected men of the Hyrulian faith. They kneeled in the alter, which its elegant murals of the three main goddesses, shown bright and stunning with gleaming shades of reds and blues, were of great contrast in mood when compared to his nervous followers of faith. Father Jacobs had to admit, Hyrule was in trying times.

Over the years, their gods have been getting less responsive. Of course Jacobs knew it was all a test of religious strength, but year after year this was getting harder to take in. And how they needed the gods… even with the power thirsty demon mysteriously disappearing over the millenniums, Hyrule has had its share of bloodshed, particularly with the Gorons, who they have raged war against off and on through the times.

More than once the gods haven't responded in dire situations. For a long time, Jacobs has been focusing his prayers on Ellyon alone. Ellyon has been the only god to respond to their needs unconditionally. But not today. Not this evening.

His men were getting worried. Obviously, the gods were still testing them. A perfect time to do so, as the Gorons were planning yet another attack. Jacobs softened his gaze, those poor Gorons, so confused. At peace for nearly a decade, the rock eaters have once again been kidnapping children as bargaining chips… for food. For rocks. Which is becoming a rarity on death mountain. Almost as scarce as the water in Lake Hylia.

The priest rubbed his eyes in deep thought, these were indeed trying times. Something evil was approaching, he could feel it crawling under his skin like worms, forming goose bumps up his neck. Whatever it was, it had far more significance than another Goron battle.

People outside the church were blissfully unaware, which also concerned him. It seemed like no one cared anymore, the gods have been disappearing for many years, and the rest of Hyrule has slowly moved on. To them, the story of Ganondorf from long ago is just that… a story. A legend. It is not even recorded in books anymore. What of the hero of time? Or the wielder of wisdom?... without the church, that knowledge would be lost forever. Yet evil was approaching.

It was getting closer. His heart rate picked up to a point so that it was all he could hear. THUM-THUMP. THUM-THUMP. Evil was… THUM-THUMP. It was here. It was right now! The sudden realization caused everyone in the church to flinch.

He shut his eyes, raising his hand in a cautionary motion. He knew his friends were feeling the same fear and doubt as himself. But Jacobs had to keep order. They needed faith now more than anything… this had to be the final test.

"No," he said calmly, sensing movement of his religious followers. "We must stay. Have faith brothers."

More and more people were filing past him. He opened his eyes to see his last two men rising up as if to leave. He felt a sudden burst of sorrow. Tears rolled down his face in sheets. He sniffled, "have faith."

Alas he was alone. He cried to the heavens, "I love you Ellyon. I trust you." And at that moment, his entire church rumbled and collapsed.

--

"Gather the children and the elders!" A Hyrule soldier declared over a bunch of cowering civilians. "We are under attack!"

Massive rocks flung over head so fast they sounded as slick as arrows. Goron weaponry. The large stones pelted various castle town commodities. The first boulder to hit sent the church in shambles.

Soldiers filed into the blacksmith's shop to claim their weapons. They lined up in rows starting with archers and canon men, and eventually ending with swordsmen. People were running aimlessly, or huddled in dark corners, while children cried pleas of help. Most civilians were brought inside the castle walls, while men and a few women stayed bravely. More rocks smashed into the corner of a building where some soldiers had to shield themselves from getting pelted by debris.

"They can not send us too much more," one soldier commented. "That is like us launching our cattle into oblivion."

"Hyrule has plenty of stone, it would not take these monsters long to dig some more," said another.

"They are foolish!" seethed a woman; her fists were formed tightly and shaking.

Wide eyed and incredulous, the priest's men descended from the church into the battlefield. Their movement was timid and uncertain, the white backs of their robes flowing behind elegantly. They gave each other grim looks before stopping in front of the commander.

"The gods are not responding," one said miserably. A rock sailed right over his head, but he didn't care. The holy man had the look of a suicidal.

At this statement, a few people laughed in a mocking manner. Some of them raised their weapons as a sort of salute, including the commander who chuckled and said half drunkenly. "What is new church man? It took you one hundred years to realize this?" More laughter.

"Five hundred," said another religious follower. "You have not kept track of history." The holy men gave each other one last grim look of understanding before heading off. The dated story of foretold evil was as good as gone. Except that it was no story. It was truth.

The commander shook his head and turned to his army. He lifted his helmet to wipe the sweat and grease from his face, giving a smug grin. "Friends. I am not much of a speaker, but heed my words. The times of Goron war are sad ones. This is not a new ground for us however. Our neighbors, the rock eaters, continue to rely on the rocks of other villages and towns as theirs have depleted greatly over the years. But we cannot continue to supply them with all of our stone. Call us selfish if you may, but we also have needs of stone. For our weapons and shelter, for our future. Thus, a war has begun once again. And we have it to our advantage, we have buildings for protection, and our enemies are foolish enough to come from the open fields of Hyrule. We shall be victorious!" A loud cheer came from everyone. He inspired them.

Turning to the front of his army, the leader did not miss a single beat in building up his charisma. And like a fast, furious percussion he shouted. "Archers ready?"

"Yes sir!" came a deep rumble of bass voices in horrible unison. The leader was not satisfied.

"I SAID ARE YOU READY!," This time he got the triumphant, attentive response he was looking for.

"Then let us rip our enemies to pieces!" One final blast of cheering came so loud... so long, it nearly shook the earth.

He frowned in concentration. "Alright archers. On three. One…" the man pulled out his scope and squinted in the sunset, waiting to see the first silhouette of a Goron. "Two…" He stalled between two and three for a long while. Waiting. Anticipating. A couple times he got excited over the shadow of a bird or other animal, until finally he saw a large mass rise from a grassy slope. "Three!"

There were quick, swift sounds of arrows, before they could bee seen airborne in a perfect row, like a giant wall curving down on the enemies. They watched their weapons cut through the air, arch perfectly, and could hear the low Goron's screams as terror rained upon the rock dwellers. The Hyrule people cheered and whooped briefly at their success and took cover.

As planned, the buildings would protect them as they waited for the next series of boulders to plow through the town. Breaths held, sweat slipping down their faces from the intensity of war more than actual physical labor, the people sat in odd silence. Two, three minutes passed like this. In this silence. Waves of confusion traveled among their faces. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Many of them feared that their enemies found a new tactic. That the rock eaters were smarter than they let on.

That was until they heard the longer, harsher Goron screams. Evening sky of bright maroon quickly lit up with green flashes of energy. The Gorons kept screaming… blood curdling screams. Their low voices sounded like cows being slaughtered.

The Hyrule commander, his face no longer fearless, but scared and helpless, slowly chanced a glance around a structure. What he saw made him scream. A man… no, a demon with short hair in striking shades of orange, a face pale enough for the dead, and a long, black robe came at him. Beyond the demon, were layers, upon layers of black movement. The Hyrule leader observed the scene closely, and realized what he was looking at. Which was impossible. He gasped. Im…possible. The black was a giant sea of spiders, crawling their way to their next victims. Unstoppable.

Hyrule field was drenched with blood. And soon would Hyrule castle town. And then Hyrule castle.


	3. Two

Hey. Thanks for the feedback PossessedObssession, your encouragment really helps. I kind of laughed when you pointed out that Goron were basically rocks, you're totally right, there is now way an arrow could penetrate rock (hit myself on the head with a rock), what was I thinking? Also, for everyone whos noticed, I wrote in my prologue that Ganon dies in his concealment... but after thinking about it, I forgot that, techically he actually does breaks free... so I'm going to have to reword that as well. Oh well... back to the drawing board.

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**Two.** Ordon

_**He always dismissed it as a birthmark.**_ No questions asked. No strings attached.

An adolescent boy sat on his bed, his blonde hair in a disheveled mess, gazing out a circular window, barley noting the typical grey sky, or the rest of the Ordon village. He was busy thinking of other things.

The curious thing about it, the birthmark, was that it hardly ever appeared. Whenever it did, it formed three triangles on the front of his hand; two on bottom, one on the top. An inverted, imaginary triangle rested in the center. Two of them shine gold in color while the bottom left was something of its own. It showed even more brightly, yet was dark and shady. Dead looking… almost cut off from the others.

Normally the symbol appeared when he was at the edge of the Ordon forest, near Hyrule field. Or when he first rode a horse. Or when…. Or the time that… He never saw the pattern at first, but eventually it dawned on him. The thing that caused his birthmark to resurface was fear.

"Link?," said a soft, gentle voice.

The boy instantly broke from his deep concentration, and turned to look at his Grandma. She was short for an adult, maybe 5 feet, and he almost passed her up in height. Her face was weathered by age, she had more wrinkles and liver spots than the forest had trees.

She smiled. "Good morning darling. I hope you had a good nights rest, as it is time to get up for school. You should run off to class before—" thunder clashed, and rain slapped the window. Drops slid down the glass in streaks, distorting the view outside. Grandma sighed, then chuckled in an easy-going manner, "before it rains."

Link nodded.

He ripped off his night clothes, and slipped into his school robe. Then dodged past his Grandma and jumped down the ladders leading from his room and into the kitchen and dining room. With one final leap out his front door, he landed on the ground, which was muddier than he expected. It sucked at his brown shoes as he hurried along the path. Rain was a common thing for Ordon. Dark clouds usually held the sun captive, preventing its rays from brightening the village much at all. Every once and a while it would break free, and the people would catch a glimpse of its glory, and maybe, if lucky, somebody would spot a patch of blue sky.

Running through the heart of the village, he looked to the pond and the hundreds of ripples that rainfall caused upon it. He saw the lighted window of the general store, where a cat watched the storm gloomily. Other children were hurrying to the school as well, some slipping down the slope that led to it. According to grandma, that location used to be a ranch, but Ordon no longer had any cattle, just a few horses.

The school was once a stable and since then remodeled. The building is a small wood hut, the size of half a home with only one room. Its interior is mostly barren, slightly smelling of cedar, with a few chairs, a small book shelf, and a grandfather clock.

Upon his arrival, Link painted the mud from his shoes onto the welcome rug like an abstract mural, before brushing through the front doors. Instructor Ravious was already teaching amongst the middle of a student circle. Link closed the door quietly and made to take a seat.

Ravious looked up in mid sentence, causing the whole student body to eventually stare at Link inquisitively. He was an old skinny man with fine pointed features. High levels of intellect reflected heavily in his eyes as he glared at Link. His sharp brown pupils could cut and bleed through anyone's mind.

"Why must you always be so _WET_… Mr. Link." He gave an unpleasant frown, his shallow face showing even more cheekbone when doing so.

Link glanced at the twelve other students; six boys, six girls, all as sopping wet as he was. The teacher was being unreasonable, but respect was still due. He turned to his instructor. Looking at the man's shirt. Not daring enough to meet his face. "Sorry sir," he said.

"Look at me!" Ravious ordered, "look at me when you speak boy!"

Hesitantly, Link met his eyes. Those sharp eyes. Like razors. The teacher looked unsatisfied. "Now take a seat."

Link did. A boy next to him raised his hand sheepishly, "my father needs help with corn picking today…" then added, "sir."

The teacher did not respond immediately. Frustration was poorly hidden in his expression, "five years of education and yet you still don't understand? I can not simply excuse you. Knowledge is the basis of our survival! Not too long before us, people were still using bows and arrows, slings and stones… blindly praying to their gods— look where that got them."

A girl named Sarah jumped in. "You mean the royal family massacre?" She had a pretty face that was unperfected by a thick pair of glasses. And a few scars. It gave her an appearance that crossed rugged with intellectual.

Ravious smiled. "Absolutely Miss Sarah. Sixty years ago, life was wiped from Hyrule castle because their civilization was too slow. We have learned from this, our weapons have advanced dramatically in sixty years. We now know how to veer off what lies in Hyrule field."

The teacher went on, explaining for the umpteenth time that arrows are now made of steel to be more effective and withstand black powder fueled propulsion. He got lost in his lecture, going on about technological advancements for several minutes.

A boy with messy black hair reclined himself with an extra chair. He endured the lecture for as long as he possibly could before he budded in. "Are you ever going to tell us what's out there?"

The question caused an eerie silence to creep inside the room. It even went as far as to momentarily steal the words from Ravious's mouth. Every student looked to the teacher in dreaded expectation. This was not the first time such questions were asked.

"Getting curious again Siry? You want to leave the village and see for yourself?"

Siry made an innocent gesture, a cocky smile escaping from his lips. "I'm just saying."

"What lies out there is none of your concern," the teacher glanced at the grandfather clock stationed in the corner of the room. "Looks like class is over."

Link felt relief run through him. His spirits lifted as if he were light as a feather. Students shuffled outside the doors and into the presence of a stormy sky. The rain had quit at least, which made for a dryer walk home. He never bothered to join in with any of the student's games.

Grandma hugged and kissed him as she did everyday. They exchanged words, and he climbed the first ladder, stepping through grandma's small shelf of a room, and then climbed up to his. He plopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He loved his room. It was the one thing that always made him happy; the place where he spent most of his life, pondering. Link thought about things too much. Too hard.

Ravious kept bringing up topics that only induced questions; questions that were prohibited. Link hardly spoke at all in class, just listened, and kept all of his inquires to himself. The burden of his growing curiosity on everything made him feel like a bloated sponge.

_What evil is outside the village? Is there life elsewhere? What is Hyrule castle? Where is it? Who is the demon? Why are most questions so discouraged in school? Why does Ravious have an obvious hatred for him?_ These were just scratching the surface.

He looked out his window. From the distance, he saw his friends playing around, doing normal everyday kid things. Tag. Splashing in the pond. Boys were tackling each other. Girls were playing with dolls made of cloth and straw. Digging in the ground to make mud pies. Rolling around in the grass. Playing king of the hill on the slope that connected the school to the rest of the village. Climbing atop the roof of the general store. Giving hugs. Laughing. Having fun.

Not a worry crossed their minds. Not a single hint of doubt. Link took all that in…feeling strange. Like he was different from them. It was a horrible feeling.

"Why don't you?" A voice came out of nowhere. Link whipped around, startled. It was Sarah.

In a village of about thirty people, he knew her decent enough, but it was still strange having her suddenly talking to him in his own room. Link said nothing, taken aback by the awkwardness of the situation,

"Your grandma let me in," she rolled her eyes.

"Oh," he said, scratching his head nervously.

"Why?" She repeated, her lips turned into a perfect smile, pushing her glasses up slightly. A dimple formed on her right cheek. "Why don't you ever go out there and play?"

Link thought about her words and stared back out the window.

"When I see them," she added with colorful disdain. "All I see is bliss. Bliss and ignorance."

Link looked back at her, and after a long moments time, he nodded.

"I thought so," she said, her hazel eyes, slightly enlarged from her glasses, traced him up and down in thorough examination. "Look… Siry and I, well, we kind of started this club."

"A club?" He asked.

"Yes, a club. We both hope to eventually leave the village, and find some answers…" she looked at him excitedly. "We are still scouting other kids. There is not much to choose from, but after close observation, we thought that you might be our best bet."

The idea intrigued him. He felt his heart flutter… leave the village? There was another long silence.

"Well, of course you might not be as well…" she said with a wink, stalling for his decision. "But if you are interested at all, please let us know. And don't," she warned, "let anyone else know about this. With that she left Link alone to chew on her information.

Leaving the village… he thought... finding the truth… did he even have to think about his answer?


	4. Three

Chapter 3

**Three. **Simple Fear.

_**Not long after Sarah's departure**_, Grandma called him downstairs. There was something different about the way she sounded. Her sweet, shaky voice had another quality that he couldn't quite place a finger on.

Two plates of steak and peas were arranged on the dining table. Link sat opposite of her, ignoring her curious expression. He cut into the steak, fresh juice spilled from it, before plopping it into his mouth.

"So..." she said after a while.

Link was starting to get the makings of a hint, but he played dumb. "What?"

She chuckled while swallowing her food. "You know what I'm talking about. The girl, Sarah."

"It's not like that." He said abruptly.

"Oh... I see." He could tell she didn't believe him, but there was no way to convince her otherwise. A tinge of irritation poked at him. He didn't think of Sarah that way. From the moment she entered and left his house it was all business. Nothing more… nothing more.

Thankfully, Grandma let the matter go. She gazed at him sadly. She told him he was growing up too fast. He agreed, but not in the way she was thinking.

"I remember when we first found you," she sighed. "You were just a baby at the time. I was walking by the forest when I heard these innocent little cries..."

He was found in a basket. Link smiled. He often wondered who his parents were. They must have known what it was like outside the village. He was reminded once again that all Ordon ever did for him was provide questions.

Even as he took another bite of his savory steak, another big question popped up. It was something that had been bugging him since he was at least ten. Up until now, Link ignored it like everything else. But Sarah changed something in him that day. He now knew he wasn't alone. So he braved the question.

"Where do we get the meat?"

The reaction was instant. Grandma turned pale, she looked as scared as Ravious did when challenged by Siry. It was her turn to pretend. "I don't understand." She said in a higher voice.

Link rephrased himself. "We have no cattle, yet everyday we have meat on the table. Why?"

Grandma looked like she had been hit aside the face. Her fears were confirmed. Link was curious. She looked down so that all he could see was a bun tied in the back of a gray set of hair. "Go to bed," she said darkly.

Link was quick to do just that. The tone she gave him sent chills down his spine. He never got much sleep.

Click-Clop. Click-clop. Click-clop. Link awoke early the next morning to the sound of horse hooves. Through his open window, he could hear the animals snort and whine in protest. His eye lids were heavy. The lost sleep from last night was finally catching up to him. A part of him was lying on the comfort of his bed, while another half of him was still playfully tackling Sarah in the grass.

"Easy girl," the physical side of him heard a rough, irritable voice. "Whoa."

The dream Link was suddenly tackled violently. He told Sarah to take it easy, and then he shouted "Whoa!" as she picked up a garden hoe.

"Epona, your killing me!" Somebody sighed in front of the Ordon forest.

The dream Sarah's eyes turned from angry to fiery. "Who's Epona?" she seethed. Link woke just before a hoe was forcefully stabbed through his face. His eye lids heaved open. He didn't need a mirror to know that his eyes were blood shot. He yawned then groggily sat up to look outside.

An impatient looking man stood near a horse wagon. It was a normal sized carriage, not much bigger than the one Ordon hasn't used since Link could remember. In the front of it, two horses stood with even less patience. One of those horses, light brown, with white spots swirling on it, was one of the most beautiful things Link had ever seen.

He saw her every month. Her name was Epona. He usually saw the same man as well. The same thing happened every time; they wait at the front of the forest away from most of the village, drop off a large box, the village mayor sneaks over and pays them, and then they leave abruptly as if they were never there.

This had always spawned yet another series of questions. _Who was this man that came on a consistent basis? Where did he come from? What was being dropped off?_ Although, Link felt fairly certain he knew the answer to the last question.

He fell back asleep. Dreaming once again of hay bails, horses, and a girl. It couldn't have lasted long enough. After what only seemed life a few seconds, his eyes fluttered open, well rested.

Link jumped downstairs to find that it was already noon. He looked around the kitchen, and sniffed about expecting the smells of bacon or sausage. No such scents hung in the air. The first thing he should have noticed was that Grandma wasn't there. Odd. There was no reason for her not to wake him, but since today was a weekend, perhaps she had let him sleep in?

Though a little late, he decided to stick with the tradition of a hot breakfast, and attempted his own scrambled eggs over the fire place. At first, the runny yolk started curdling near the edges of the pan, but no sooner had it begun to look good, than everything went to the dogs. Quite literally. The eggs were so smoky, so black, that he was forced to throw the remains outside for the animals.

He stepped out to do this, breathing in the fresh air. The sky was plagued with its typical gloom when he heard voices. "Last one there's a cuckoo!," shouted a girl.

"Oh, you're on!," came another voice. Link turned to see a few of his classmates heading into the forest. One of the children stopped to ask him if he was coming too. Link just stared in puzzlement. They laughed at his funny expression.

"You mean you don't know?" said a boy in utter amazement before getting tackled by his friend.

The girl giggled before explaining, "the great Ordon slide opens today silly!" They all cheered together racing off into the trees.

Link suddenly remembered the brief announcement that Instructor Ravious gave several weeks ago. The village community was working on bringing a giant water slide into Ordon springs. Using advanced technology, the village discovered a substance called tree resin, and turned it into a hard, durable shell, perfect for sliding on.

Ordon springs, the end of a river flow, was like a natural slide in itself. The water tumbled, with short dips all the way down, and spilled into a magnificent pond. In a way it looked like it was always meant for something important. This was only a fitting reason for the village to build a memorable attraction there.

Out of curiosity, Link followed his classmates. It was the same direction the wagon always arrived and departed in the early morning. From how he last remembered it, Ordon springs was by no means detectable. Instead, the resin based slide stretched all the way up and down the river as far as the eye could see. Next to the slide, a trail of wooden steps slowly climbed the slope.

Kids were screaming and laughing all the way down. Most of the village was already there to watch the spectacle. Link scanned the crowd, to find his Grandma waving at him. He had been looking for Sarah, but neither she nor Siry were present.

"Good afternoon sleepy head." Grandma chuckled. He smiled back, but only half-heartedly, wondering why she hadn't woken him. That wasn't like her. He let the smile droop into a frown. "Why the glum look? Today marks a joyous celebration!"

He tried to forget last night. The slide, he had to admit, did actually look kind of fun. Link wanted to hit himself when he decided to climb the endless looking stairs. Had he no pride? No dignity? Ordon was teaching everyone ignorance while the rest of Hyrule was probably falling apart. Heck, he didn't even know that much, for all he knew the rest of the world was perfect. Only a couple of broad stories were ever told, unsatisfying explanations like how creatures of the shadows will lurk around and eat people. These were probably meant to scare everyone more than educate them. The village was blinded by secrets.

And he was about to have fun right along with all this?

His legs were on fire when he finally reached the top, where two girls cowered near the front of the slide. He didn't blame them, as mellow as the slope was his heart was pounding a little too fast. The village wasn't used to adventure. The girls eventually let the slide flush them down. Link was next.

Looking below, the people were mere specks. He felt the slightest tickle on the top of his hand, as if a bug were crawling on it, and knew instinctively what it was. The birthmark. That one black triangle staring back at him eerily.

He took a deep breath, inched himself closer to the dip of the slide, the natural river flow tugging at his balance, before turning around and heading for the stairs. He couldn't do it. Just couldn't do it. The birthmark vanished by the time he reached the bottom of the steps.


	5. Four

I just wanna apoloigize first for not updating my story in like a month. And I know some people were hoping for sooner updates, like Possessed Obession, and I'm sorry for sort of abandoning my story. And I hope you don't follow my path. I really appreciete the feedback I'm getting and I don't know if I've really taken the time to say much of that. The reviews really help encourage me. I'm kind of weak in that sense, many times the reviews are what drive me. So please don't stop. And I hope that I'll never take such a long break from this piece again. Although I think the time away has helped refresh my writing at the same time... so it's not all bad.

Alright here we go. The beginning of this chapter seems kind of boring to me, but that might be because I read it like 12 times... lol.

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Four. **Guts.**

The weekend ended quickly. School was back in session. And no one could wait to see Ravious again. Students filed into class one by one, soaked in mother nature's tears. Their shoes squished and squeaked from the moisture. As the last student made his attendance through the doorway, Ravious opened in a cold voice.

"Umbrellas were invented for a reason."

Only a few of the villagers ever used them. Most braved the elements. Rain was such a common thing that umbrellas were always a hassle to carry around. Much of Ordon's technical advancements were conceived by Ravious including umbrellas. The fact that nobody preferred them was like an insult to him. A slap in the face.

The students sat in a ring around their instructor awaiting instruction. Ravious took a count of the class size, all twelve in attendance, and began pairing kids in twos. By coincidence, Link was with Sarah. The pairs spread out across the room, face to face, three feet apart.

Her red hair looked almost brunette when drenched. She seemed more vulnerable with wet hair. It would have been natural male instinct to be at her defense for just about any occasion if she didn't look so... capable. The small scars on her face told many tales. He knew she could easily pin him down.

They locked eyes. She had a sly, curious expression. The left portion of her lip curled, and her eyebrows twisted in opposite directions.

He returned a calm gaze. Link was tempted to let her hear his decision. To inform her that he absolutely, whole heartedly, without a doubt, wanted to leave the village. But before he could open his mouth, Ravious boomed in.

"Today we will be working on a simple self defense method that can free a wrist from a wrist grab," he paused to study the sopping clothes of every student, "and hopefully you will all take my practical knowledge to good use if you should ever need it someday."

Ravious spun on his heel and advanced for the front of the room, his robe flowing behind. "Justin!" he ordered. An overweight boy looked up in surprise, a fragment of doubt spelled onto his face as if to say, me sir? You really said my name sir? He soon came to his senses and walked up to the instructor. Ravious smiled in a way that provoked intimidation. "My boy!" his hand slapped onto the student's pudgy shoulder. "Justin is going to show us what not to do in this kind of situation." He grabbed the boys wrist, "I want you to escape me!"

Justin stood in silence, looking at his teacher's sharp eyes, horror struck. And then his brain started working. The class could practically hear the slow, heavy gears turning inside his head. But they were rusty. And not nearly fast enough.

The boy attempted to jerk his hand out of Ravious's firm grip. He tried once. Twice. The third time he used his other arm to help yank. But every time, Justin never made a budge. His wrist was imprisoned, stationary. He gave up after his fourth try, huffing, red faced. His body dropped from exhaustion. Only then did Ravious relieve his tension, allowing the student to fall hard on his face.

Everyone in the room watched this, soaked it all in. There were mixed reactions, some students had mild amusement glinting off of their eyes, others with disdain. Sarah made a quick disgusted look so that only Link saw her.

"So does anyone know what Justin did wrong?"

Nobody made a move for a long while. Finally Sarah pushed up her glasses, "every move has it's weak point," she said. "In the case of a wrist grab, it's weakest point is where the thumb wraps around the arm. This is the ideal direction for the victim to pull."

"Precisely Sarah. Now watch as Justin equips himself with this new knowledge." He grabbed the boy once again.

Justin struggled. He was able to budge his wrist if ever so slightly from the teacher. But not much more. He gave up. Again. Embarrassed.

"Sometimes, it takes a while to sink in." Ravious added scornfully. "Go back to your partner Justin."

The remainder of the time was spent in practice. Sessions only lasted an hour each day, so Ravious wanted to cram as much practice in as possible. Partners would switch off after every successful wrist grab pull.

Link wasn't surprised by how easily Sarah escaped his grip. She made it seem as though a layer of butter were smeared over his palms. Although, he didn't seem to have many problems getting away from her grip either. He was just following the technique, pull hard in the direction of the thumb.

"So do you grab girls often?" Sarah flirted.

Link blushed. "Uh...no."

She laughed. "Don't worry, I can tell."

They talked about many things. It was all simple small talk. Nothing deep. Nothing intellectual. Just: man I can't believe the way Ravious treats Justin all the time. Or: Mrs. Gradie's cat went missing yesterday, and we found it underneath our table. Things like that. Link had almost forgotten the real reason he wanted to talk to her in the first place.

They switched places for the umpteenth time. It was Sarah's turn to grab. By then the technique had come naturally to him. Just twist and pull in the right direction. Twist and pull. He was surprised when that didn't work. He tried again. No budge. He looked up to Sarah. Her eyes were serious. They meant business.

"Did you tell anyone what we discussed yesterday?" she asked tentatively. Her grip tightened. Link winced at the pressure of it. He shook his head. Her eyes filled with relief. The grip slacked. "So... have you thought about it?"

"I really want to join you." was his simple response. She let his arm free.

"Class is over." Ravious said. His words were like magic. In an instant, everyone began filing outside "But you Link. You must stay."

Link felt sick to his stomach. He was almost to the door when he heard this. Sarah gave him a sorry shrug before she left. He turned around.

"Sit down." Ravious said.

Link saw that there was another student who hadn't left their chair yet. A boy with black hair. His legs were propped up. Everything about him... the way he carried himself... was cocky... was unmistakably Siry. His hair was longish, and it covered most of his face. He appeared to be sleeping.

Ravious faced them, stabbing his eyes into Link. "I talked to your grandmother the other day. She was a bit concerned."

A horrible feeling jabbed at his heart and wouldn't stop poking it. Was it true? Did this explain her absence that one morning? He felt betrayed. Robbed.

"She said you were asking about our food supply. You scared her. Did you know this? Are you aware that you were scaring her?"

Link grit his teeth.

"Some answers are the most helpful when they're not given. And thats what I want you to think about for the next hour as you write one hundred sentences."

Ravious passed out some crude paper made from the forest trees, and a quill with a layer of hardened tree resin wrapped around it. "Your sentence is: I am happy with my life and will not question it..."

...I am happy with my life and will not question it. Link dipped his fancy quill into the ink and started on his twentieth line. He'd been trying to lose count but for some reason he couldn't.

I am happy with my life and will not question it.

After two more lines the quill was already going dry. He saw this as his latest sentence slowly died off. Just as it's meaning was already dead to him. Ironic. He submerged his utensil back into the thick black puddle of sin, looked around to find that Siry was still sleeping, and went back to work.

Something caught his eye as he pressed the quill to the paper. A sudden movement on the sleeve of his school robe. He examined the sleeve, pulled it closer, looked all over it. Then something tingled on his neck. He swatted at it to find that a black spider was now clinging to his hand.

Link hated spiders more than almost anything. He shook his hand until the arachnid flung off. He saw his birthmark.

"Well... you're certainly a piece of work." Siry muttered in a groggy voice. He stretched and pushed the hair out of his eyes.

Link flushed.

Siry looked to see that Ravious was out of earshot and leaned in to whisper. "I suppose Sarah's told you about our club... if you really want in I'll have to break the wuss out of you. Just look at your hands, all soft and gentle. You need guts first before anything else."

Link politely took in the insults. There was no bite to him.

"You do want in don't you?"

Link nodded.

"I seem to forget when I told either of you to talk!" Ravious barked before burying his face back in his book.

Back to work. I am happy with my life and will not question it. I am happy with my life. And will not question it. Will not question... Link finished his lines a few minutes early. Siry was back to sleep and Ravious was just slapping his book shut. The instructor reached behind the bookshelf and pulled out a leather whip.

"I hope you finished in time," he frowned. He peered over Link's pages first. Link looked down, but could still feel those eyes burning on the back of his head. "Your penmanship is a bit sloppy... it's as if you don't even care about what you were writing. I'm sorry you think that way."

Snap. The whip cracked onto Link's hands. He reeled back, tipping his chair off balance. Then came Siry. Not a single blotch of ink was etched on his paper. Blank. Apparently the ultimate mistake. Ravious pulled him upright, twisted him around, and bent him over the chair. He wound his arm back and forced a mighty snap onto Siry's back, who winced, letting out a harsh groan. Five severe lashed followed. Then Siry smiled and said, "It takes guts."


	6. Five

**Thanks again for the feedback, P.O. I'm glad you liked the ending of Chapter 4. I'm equally glad that we're kind of on the same page about the beginning of the chapter. Something is off. I think it might have to do with over-description between diologue. But then again I don't know.**

Also, for everyone. I know this chapter is one of my shortest yet for this story... but in all honesty, I put everything I wanted to in this chapter. And it just ended up being shorter. I was in no rush. It just happened that way.

A lot of this chapter was about character building. I built a little more upon Link's relationship with his Grandma and on her character. I also tried to go just a little deeper into the characters of Siry and Sarah and distinguish them a little bit. One thing that troubles me is that Siry's dad was always the mayor, but I don't really mention it until this chapter because I didn't think I needed to. But maybe it would be better if I did mention that fact earlier on? I don't know, just a thought.

Hope you guys like.

**--**

**Five.** Wuss in Training.

Link marched inside his house, flung the door shut, and flew past his grandma. He was on a furious mission to reach his bedroom as fast as possible. "How was school?" she called after him.

As if she didn't know? Link scrambled up the ladder with the agility of a monkey and threw himself onto his bed. What else went on behind his back... behind the villager's backs? Those with power over the village... the mayor and Instructor Ravious, what kind of secret decisions have they made? Or even grandma... what kind of secrets has she kept? It seemed like a vicious cycle.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Grandma poked her head into view from the top of the ladder.

Link glared at her. Fire danced around his eyes, but he couldn't stay furious for long. Like a gentle breeze, his expression softened. The steam went away. He cooled down. "Why?" his throat tightened. His eyes were wet, threatening a flood of tears.

Grandma looked at him for a long time. She looked to be hesitating, as if she might regret responding. "I'm sorry," she finally answered. A tear ran down her cheek, it bobbed through each of her wrinkles like a boat on a stormy sea. She reached the top level, gave him a big hug, and climbed back down.

Link stared out his window, noticing the noon sky, finally happy to have some good news. The noon sky was always the most pleasant. The brightest and happiest part of the day. It almost matched the mood of his excited classmates racing into the forest, undoubtedly headed for the Ordon slide.

Clink. Something bounced off his window. Clink. A pebble? Link rose and pressed his forehead to the glass. First he saw Sarah motioning for him to come outside. Then he saw Siry whose hand was filled with stones. He smiled and hurled another one. CLINK. Link opened the window.

"Welcome to your first day of training." Siry said.

--

The three of them stood outside the Mayor's house; by far the largest home in Ordon. Its imposing shadow swallowed them up... causing Link to feel very small inside. His mind was swimming with second thoughts. This was the Mayors house!

"Won't your father get mad?" he said. It was probably the longest sentence he'd ever spoken to Siry before.

"The things my old man don't know." Siry gave a weird laugh. Sarah fought back a smile. "Ladies first." Siry grabbed Link, opened the door and pushed him through. Link tripped ungracefully onto his face with nothing more than a polished wood floor to break his fall. "We don't have much time... so I expect when you leave my house... you'll be wuss-broken."

The main room was elegant. Colorful carpets draped down most of the wall space. A nice sized fireplace sat opposite the doorway. It had glass doors, with beautiful, golden handles that resembled Ordon goats.

This was an expensive looking place. This was the Mayors house! They were going to practice here? Definite suicide.

Siry and Sarah pushed a bookshelf out of the way to reveal a hidden door. He explained that his fathers ancestry used to wrestle rock-men from back in the old days called Gorons. This was apparently the room used for training. Siry shoved Link through this door as well, pressing on the issue at hand. Link was a wuss.

The room was completely dark. Link wandered into a few cobwebs. He shivered at the thought of all the possible spiders climbing amongst his body. Siry lit all the torches and the room soon came to life under the flickering flames, which made the area glow dimly in an orange color. It was mostly barren, besides a barrel full of fighting equipment, and a small arena in the center.

"Don't worry," Siry assured him, eying the weapons. "Todays training won't kill you. Besides, there's no chance my father will walk in on us."

Link gave him a questioning look.

"His daddy," Sarah looked at Siry when saying this. "Won't be back for another day."

Link gasped. "The mayor left the village?"

"Isn't the first time," Siry clenched his fists. "Won't be the last."

Another saga of questions invaded Link's mind like a raging war. He ignored all of them. Now was not the time.

"Alright," Siry gave a confident smile. "Sarah's going to teach you a little about fighting with your hands."

"Me?" Sarah scowled. "You never asked me. Since when have I answered to you?"

His pearly whites escaped his lips in the largest smile to date. "Since you've loved me."

"Oh please," Sarah rolled her eyes. "Your ego is thicker than your skull."

"Please," he said.

Eventually, she pocketed her glasses and stepped onto the arena. Link had no other choice but to follow her. The first bit of training struck him hard and fast. There was no signal, no chance to get prepared.

"Learn to hit me!" Sarah whacked him aside the head. It hurt so bad his mind couldn't accept all of the pain right away. He saw stars. She continued to plant palm strikes all over his body. Smack. Link felt everything.

She was going extremely hard on him, especially for a training session, which generated confused and angry thoughts. Earlier today they were almost like friends. How could someone change so quickly? Then he looked in Sarah's eyes and he saw her desperate will for him to learn.

SMACK.

Link had to come to his senses. Had to think clearly. It was hard to concentrate while somebody kept making powerfully precise swings from every direction. Smack. It was scary not knowing where each blow would land, he couldn't stop blinking. But with each hit he was getting more frustrated. The anger was choking out his fear.

This was it. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He packed his fingers into the tightest fist he could muster, and swung at her with his most fierce and mighty swing. She deflected it like a toy. His jaw dropped.

Sarah was clearly unimpressed, "that the best you got?" She rolled her eyes. "Wait for an opening and palm strike me!"

"Yeah... good luck with that one.," Siry mused while slouching into the far wall.

Smack. Link got one good in the cheek bone. Blinking. He kept blinking. Why did he keep blinking? He willed his eyes to stop. Of the times that they were open, Link observed every palm strike. There was no real pattern... at first. But then he found the beat. Every swing had a pause to go with it. Like Sarah said: Every move has its weak point.

He had split second to make a hit before every swing. Still, he waited. Learning the beat, becoming the beat. And then, when he thought the timing was right, he made one furious palm strike for her head.

Child's play. Sarah deflected it without a sweat. "Nice try," she almost smiled. "but I always have my guard up."

They worked for hours like this. Sarah and Siry took shifts at their new job: beating the pulp out of a weak little school boy. Link soon learned through observation that Sarah took fighting with a more precise approach. Every move had a purpose. She hit him in certain muscles, like in his mid arm, that would sting and nearly paralyze him.

Siry's fighting style was more straightforward. Beat the wuss into the ground. His hits were ten times harder. No mercy. Link saw many open opportunities to take a swing. But with Siry's strength, Link needed a little more brute force to make much of an impact.

At a time when Link felt sure the day was almost over, he was finally let alone; bloody faced, bruises everywhere. He collapsed to the ground and almost went unconscious. Siry and Sarah left the room to discuss some matters. Link preformed horridly. And after all that effort, after all of that... the only prize he really obtained were the battle wounds. Grandmas probabally loved those. He moaned. There was no way he could enter his house un-noticed.

"...tomorrow." Link suddenly heard a snippet of Siry's voice from the other room.

He wriggled closer to the door. "...can't leave him." he heard Sarah plead.

"... slow us down." Siry seethed.

His heart sank as understanding slowly dawned on him. Link strained to hear more, but their voices were too hushed. He brought his ear right to the door. Nothing. Silence. Link prayed for something, any sound at all, but all he was treated to was the pounding of his own heart. Then he heard the knob give an old rusty twist. With all his remaining strength he ran back over to the arena and began examining the weapons in the barrel. His legs and arms were like rubber, he basically fell over it. His timing couldn't have been more lucky as Sarah stepped through the doorway.

"Link," she said. "We have one final test for you today."


	7. Six

Alright. Here goes another chapter. Thanks for reading guys. And I just wanna say, if you are reading this, if you are liking this or even if your not, it would be nice to get some more comments. But Im not gonna beg too much.

I hope you like this chap. I don't know how well its gonna fair, most of it is made up of flashbacks so... bare with me.

**Six.** Wuss in Training part 2

_Mayor Puller was in a flurry tearing apart the delicate interiors of his house; ripping things off the walls, flipping over furniture from its otherwise idol locations. Desperation translated perfectly from deep within his gut into the tremor of his wrists and the sweat on his palms. "Where is it?..." he mouthed, forking his fingers through his hair._

_He spun around at that moment to find his son. His little boy. Standing there. The face of innocence. He stared into those young, curious eyes and hated himself even more. In that moment he wished he was eight years old again. No worries. No secrets. Puller suddenly felt ashamed of his actions. The house was in turmoil, and, in his fit, he'd woken the poor boy. It was only six in the morning._

_"Oh... Siry" He began to explain himself. "Dad has to go away for a while. You know... Mayor things. But... uh. I have Ravious to watch you in my stead. Ok?"_

_Young Siry, eight years of age, said nothing. They just stared in silence. Father and son. Then Puller made one last attempt at dissecting the house, though more gently, until finally, he gave up and dreadfully headed for the door. With his racing mind, he never bothered to bid farewell._

_Siry watched the last speck of his fathers coat trail out of sight before the door was closed shut. He stood there a while longer in the silent, eerie wreckage of the house. And then he walked into his room, pulled up a broken piece of the floor and revealed an impressive white stone; not just any piece of jewelry, but a giant pearl. His face made a funny reflection into the shine of it. Easily worth thousands of rupees._

--

"Piracy?" Sarah scolded him in disbelief. "This is your brilliant plan? You should know that there's a fine line between rebels and criminals."

A full moon glistened off the pond right beside the village store. Siry stared at its reflection, indifferent to her concerns. It was a calming view, beautiful in a sense, which was not something that could often be said about Ordon. Especially with gray clouds claiming dominion over the skies.

"He's a bit soft," Siry said. "I guess we can do with that… he can't defend himself in the middle of the night. Fine. But," he looked down so that his hair would cover his face, "what I want to know. What I really want to know… is why him? What possible use do you have of him?"

She didn't need to see his expression to know that he was remarkably jealous. His voice wavered in uneasy suspicion.

"Something tells me Link will become a very valuable asset." She said. All smug, knowing her words were going to haunt him. She meant them pragmatically of course, but he wouldn't think that way. She could almost feel the heat of his jealousy against her skin, and it made her feel all the greater.

She looked behind them to see Link standing there. Confused. Vulnerable. His face really took a beating. It was already swelling. Poor kid. But it wasn't like she hadn't gotten it before. Her and Siry both. They'd been training for a few years now, constantly testing their fighting abilities, preparing themselves for whatever lurks outside of Ordon.

She chanced a glance at his hand. The hand where the symbol appeared. The symbol of the tri-force.

The first time she saw it appear was almost a year ago. Ravious was very frustrated that day; screaming in Links face. Making him squirm back in his chair, shifting uncomfortably. And that's when she saw it glow, the gold colors commanding her undivided attention. Then it was gone. Just like that. As if it was never there. He told her it was a birth mark. Sure. Made sense.

Sarah spent weeks snooping around Ravious's old books until she came across an ancient Hyrulian bible. It was much older than the rest of his reading material, and as the others showed signs of use from time to time, the bible looked to have been neglected. She blew a thick layer of dust off of its cover.

Sarah wouldn't know at that time but the starving curiosity that gnawed in the pit of her stomach was about to be fed. And fed well. It would explain everything… or as far as the ancient religions would go. About the three goddesses; Din, Farore, and Nayru. Many common prayers at that time used to rid of evil. Worship hymns. It even explained about the tri-force. What it meant to them then.

What it meant right now.

She wasn't a sold believer, but the facts did add up. Evil was upon them, everywhere outside the village, or as far as everyone was told. And impending evil is the surest sign that the hero is yet to come. The hero who wields the tri-force of courage. Again, according to the biblical perspective, but the more she reads of the Hyrulian faith the more worried she's become. What if it was true? All of it? What if the hero of courage would not come to save them, because the hero has none?

But of course it's all a load of primitive twaddle. An ancient religion? Who would believe such preposterous concepts? The old ways are dead. In ruins. Why? Because the people had too much faith in their fake gods and idols; the gods and goddesses that were the makers of their end.

She was broken from her deep thoughts as Siry began explaining the plan to Link; the final test to prove his worth. She wasn't sure of the tri-force and the ancient religions, but seeing it on his hand made her believe it enough to know that, in the off chance of her being wrong, leaving Link in Ordon, where bravery is as thin as hay, could be the ultimate mistake.

So she had tried her best to convince Siry. And being his cocky, arrogant self, Sarah knew this was the only way Link could ever come with them. But yet she felt bad for him.

"Hasn't he endured enough already?" she asked.

Siry snapped her stern look. "You know as well as I do that this journey requires guts. Getting clonked in the face is not gutsy... it's just getting clonked in the face. But if he can manage to break into the shop and claim us a little initiation prize... knowing that there is only sixty other people in Ordon and that he has a long history of staying safe, doing what he's told, and maintaining a pair of very soft hands... I'd say he'd make a fast learner. And a worthy companion."

Sarah said nothing to that, so he continued. "Of course that all depends if he's really up to it," Siry shrugged while producing his signature smile of mischief.

Link traced his fingers over the bumps on his face out of continuous habit. The bruises stung so bad; a reminder of everything he'd been through today. It was frustrating, getting beat into a distorted mess, realizing that the whole cause was for nothing and that he was now being asked to perform an even more daring and difficult task.

Somewhere inside of him, a part of him wanted to taste the outside world more than anything else. Yet another voice in his head was advising him to stay, be safe. After all, the village was trying to protect them for a reason, as far as he was told anyway.

"Hey wuss," Siry said. "You gonna move?"

He forced himself not to think. If he were to ever complete tonight's daunting task, thinking was not an option. But unfortunately, thinking was his entire life.

Robbing the store? Shivers went down his spine. Was this really necessary to prove his worth?

"Last chance," Siry frowned. "Either you're in this or you're not kid."

Finally Link made to shake Siry's hand; a friendly symbol of agreement. Siry grabbed it, pulled Link over to the window like a child, and kicked into the glass with a loud, disruptive shatter. "Now or never," he smirked before running off into the shadows with Sarah following closely behind.

Crash. The sound echoed in his ear drums. The night was still young, and Link could not help but wonder how many homes were about to be woken and lighted. Now or never. He hesitated once because the scary reality of his mission was starting to sink in. Then hesitated a second time as he realized there was no safe way to climb through the broken window. His hand tingled.

Then he pushed himself through, cutting his legs and arms the whole way, and stepped inside. Tiny fragments of glass crunched underneath his shoes. Link immediately put his arms to work; shoveling various items into his robe used as a sort of temporary bag. Lettuce and tomatoes. Bottles and welcome rugs. A little of everything.

When Link felt sure Siry would be satisfied, he unlatched the door and exited, disappearing into the darkness, dropping a few onions on the way, heading in the direction he thought the others were headed.


End file.
